[a - 41 lines; b - 57 lines]
1)[line 1]מדרבנן וקרא אסמכתא בעלמאMIDRABANAN, U'KERA ASMACHTA B'ALMA - the law is mid'Rabanan, and the verse is merely an "Asmachta" (ASMACHTA)
(a)At times, when Chazal make a Derashah (extrapolate a Halachah or other teaching) from a word in the Torah, it happens that the Halachah or teaching is not mid'Oraisa at all, but rather mid'Rabanan. When this happens, the Gemara usually states that the Halachah is mid'Rabanan, and "Kera Asmachta b'Alma," i.e. that the verse is cited only as a "support" for the Halachah mid'Rabanan, but its source is not actually from the Torah. (TOSFOS to Bava Basra 66b DH Michlal d'She'ivah writes that in many instances, Derashos of Chazal in the Midreshei Halachah, such as Toras Kohanim, which appear to be from the Torah, are only Asmachta'os.)
(b)A second type of Asmachta applies even to a Halachah which actually is mid'Oraisa. When Chazal find a hint in the Torah to a Halachah that has its basis in the Oral Tradition, they call this an Asmachta as well (Eruvin 5a, Chulin 77a).
(c)The Rishonim argue as to the reason why Chazal, in these instances, used verses to support their teachings.
1.From the words of the RAMBAM (Introduction to his Perush ha'Mishnayos) it appears that Asmachta'os are only mnemonic devices. (It is possible that he writes this only with regard to the latter type of Asmachta, Asmachta'os for Isurei Torah.)
2.MAHARIL (in Likutei Maharil) writes that Chazal used the device of Asmachta in order to make people regard certain Halachos mid'Rabanan as if they were actually mid'Oraisa, so that they should not treat them lightly.
3.The RITVA (to Rosh Hashanah 16a, see Be'er ha'Golah of the MAHARAL, Be'er #1) states that when Chazal present an Asmachta, it means that the Torah meant to suggest that it is fitting to implement such a Halachah, but that it did not choose to make it obligatory. The Torah empowered the Chachamim to enact it should the need for it arise. Similarly, the SHELAH (in Torah she'Be'al Peh, entry titled "Rabanan") writes that when the Chachamim utilized a hint from a verse, it means that they learned a particular approach of reasoning from this verse. Accordingly, it appeared to them that there was a need to decree this particular Halachah.
4.The MESHECH CHOCHMAH (Parshas Shoftim) claims that when Chazal present an Asmachta, it means that after Chazal instituted a particular Halachah or enacted a particular decree, they studied the Torah and found that the Torah had already hinted to that future decree in its eternal wisdom.
(d)There are those who write that a Halachah mid'Rabanan that is learned from an Asmachta, and which has a hint in the apparent meaning of the verses, is more stringent than an Isur mid'Rabanan for which an Asmachta from the Torah is not offered. These Halachos were given the status of Halachos of the Torah in certain respects, for example, with regard to the requirement to be stringent in the case of a Safek. (PRI MEGADIM, Introduction to Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim 1:2:d)
2)[line 3]כמות שהוא חיKEMOS SHE'HU CHAI- as it is in its raw state
3)[line 3]בישול עובדי כוכביםBISHUL OVDEI KOCHAVIM (BISHULEI NOCHRIM)
(a)A decree was enacted that foods that were cooked by Nochrim even in a Jew's house or in a Jew's pots are prohibited to eat. The decree was instituted to prevent intermarriage and to prevent the possibility that the Nochri might feed non-Kosher food to Jews.
(b)Only foods that must be cooked were included in the decree. If they are edible raw, the Nochri has not added to those foods a significant change to prohibit them. Furthermore, only foods that are important enough to be served to kings are prohibited if a Nochri cooked them. It is not customary to invite others to a banquet where less important foods are served. Therefore, the Rabanan did not worry that these foods would bring about a mingling of Jews and Nochrim.
4)[line 6]ללפת בו את הפתL'LAFES BO ES HA'PAS- to enhance the taste of the bread. (According to the KAF HA'CHAIM, this refers to food that is not of significance, such that one would not find it at the table of important people.)
5)[line 8]וארדיV'ARDEI- and mushrooms
6)[line 9]ודייסאV'DAISA- and porridge
7)[line 11]צלאןTZELA'AN- roasted them
8)[line 12]עירובי תבשיליןERUVEI TAVSHILIN
(a)Although the Torah prohibits cooking or performing Melachah on Yom Tov in preparation for a weekday, it is permitted mid'Oraisa to cook or perform Melachah on Yom Tov in preparation for Shabbos when Yom Tov falls on Erev Shabbos (Pesachim 46b). The Rabanan, however, prohibited these Melachos unless an Eruv Tavshilin is made on Erev Yom Tov.
(b)The Amora'im disagree as to the reason why the Rabanan require an Eruv Tavshilin (Beitzah 16b). Some maintain that the Rabanan wished to ensure the honor of Shabbos; the Eruv Tavshilin serves as a reminder that one should save food for the Shabbos meals. Others are of the opinion that this enactment honors Yom Tov, as one realizes that, "If it is prohibited to cook on Yom Tov even in preparation for Shabbos (without an Eruv Tavshilin), all the more so it is prohibited to do so in preparation for a weekday."
(c)The Eruv Tavshilin is made as follows: a k'Zayis of cooked food (Beitzah ibid.) is set aside on Erev Yom Tov with the intention to eat it on Shabbos. When setting it aside, one recites the appropriate blessing and then states, "Through this Eruv, we shall be able to bake, cook, and carry out any other necessary preparations for Shabbos on Yom Tov."
9)[line 13]כסא דהרסנאKASA D'HARSENA- small fish that are cooked with flour in their own oil. The idolater fried the fish in a sauce made of fish fat and flour.
10)[line 16]שהציתSHE'HITZIS- that he made a fire
11)[line 17]באגםB'AGAM- in a marsh
12)[line 22]דחריך רישאD'CHARICH REISHA- that he (the idolater) singed the head (of an animal)
13)[line 23]מריש אוניהME'REISH UNEI- [one may eat even] from the tips of its ears
14)[line 24]לגלויי אגמאL'GELUYEI AGMA- [he intends] to uncover the ground of the marsh
15)[line 29]דשדא סיכתא לאתונאD'SHADA SICHTA L'ATUNA- who threw a fresh wooden peg into an oven to dry and strengthen it
16)[line 29]קראKARA- a gourd
17)[line 30]לבשולי מנא קא מיכויןLI'VESHULEI MANA KA MICHAVEN- [you may have thought that the idolater] intends to cook the utensil (the peg)
18)[line 31]לשרורי מנא קא מיכויןLI'SHERUREI MANA KA MICHAVEN- [the idolater] intended to harden the utensil (the peg) peg (and therefore it is not considered as though he cooked the gourd)
19)[line 35]בתרתי שעיB'TARTEI SHA'EI- in two hours
20)[line 36]כמאכל בן דרוסאיK'MA'ACHAL BEN DERUSA'I- a food that is one-third cooked (RASHI) or one-half cooked (RAMBAM), which was the way the bandit Ben Derusai, who was always on the run, would eat his food
21)[line 38]דאותביה בסילתאD'OSVEI B'SILTA- that he placed it in a basket
22)[line 41]שופתתSHOFESES- she may place a pot on the top of the oven
38b----------------------------------------38b
23)[line 1]ומגיסהU'MEGISAH- and she (the non-Jew) stirs it and mixes it
24)[line 12]הא ריפתא דשגר עובד כוכביםHA RIFTA D'SHAGAR OVED KOCHAVIM- that bread, for which an idolater lit the oven
25)[line 15]וחתה בה חתוייV'CHASAH BAH CHATUYEI- and [the Jew] stirred in it [the coals]
26)[line 24]]לא תציתו ליהLO TATZISU LEI- do not listen to him
27)[line 25]אשקיוהו נגוטא דחלא ונח נפשיהASHKEYUHU NAGOTA D'CHALA V'NACH NAFSHEI- they (the members of the Reish Galusa's house) gave him (Rav Zevid) a cup of vinegar to drink and he died
28)[line 26]הקפריסיןHA'KAFRISIN- the soft peel around the caper-berry
29)[line 27]והקפלוטותVEHA'KAPLUTOS- and the leeks
30)[line 27]והחמיןVEHA'CHAMIN- and the hot water (which does not change when it is cooked)
31)[line 27]והקליותVEHA'KELAYOS- and the roasted kernels of grain
32)[line 31]ולא פליגי מר בשניה ומר בשניהV'LO PELIGEI, MAR B'SHANEI U'MAR B'SHANEI- and they do not argue, one refers to his years and one refers to his years. Both agree that the incident occurred, but Rebbi Yochanan reported the incident forty years after it happened, and Rabah bar bar Chanah made his comment twenty years later.
33a)[line 32]ביזרא דכרפסאBIZRA D'KARPESA- [they brought] seed of celery
b) וביזרא דכיתנאU'VIZRA D'CHITNA- and seed of flax
c) וביזרא דשבלילתאU'VIZRA D'SHAVLILTA- (O.F. fenogre) and seed of fenugreek, an annual Asian and southern European plant of the pea family, having aromatic, mucilaginous (sticky, gummy, containing or secreting mucilage) seeds that are used in making curry, and for medicinal purposes
34)[line 34]חצבי חדתיCHATZBEI CHADETEI- new vessels
35)[line 34]גרגישתאGARGISHTA- clay
36)[line 35]ועיילין לבי בניV'AILIN L'VEI BANEI- and they went up into the bathhouse
37)[line 35]אדנפקו מלבלביAD'NAFKU M'LAVLEVEI- when they went out (of the bathhouse), the plants blossomed
38)[line 35]וקיירי מבינתא דרישייהו עד טופרא דכרעייהוV'KAIREI MI'BINTA D'RESHAIHU AD TUFRA D'CHARAIHU- and they were cold from the hair on their head to the toenails of their feet
39)[line 37]במיליןB'MILIN- with words; i.e., with an incantation
40)[line 37]הכוספןHA'KUSPAN- the refuse of dates that were used to make beer
41)[line 39]צפור דרורTZIPOR DROR- a type of wild bird
42)[line 39]אדמויי אדמוהADMUYEI ADMUHA- maybe they dismembered it (the bird) and placed it in the pot
43)[line 41]נותן טעם לפגםNOSEN TA'AM LI'FEGAM - an Isur that spoils the taste of the food into which it falls
See Background to Avodah Zarah 36:2.
44)[line 42]משחא שליקאMISHCHA SHELIKA- boiled oil
45)[line 43]מיסרא סריMISRA SARI- [there is no reason to suspect that they will mix forbidden wine in it, because if they do so] the oil will spoil
46)[line 45]גיעולי עובדי כוכביםGI'ULEI OVDEI KOCHAVIM- the prohibition to use utensils of non-Jews (without Kashering them) because the non-kosher food that they absorbed will be expelled into the food that is cooked in them (Bamidbar 31:21-24, Pesachim 44b)
47)[line 46]אהיני שליקיAHINEI SHELIKI- cooked dates
48)[line 46]חולייCHULYEI- sweet dates
49)[line 47]מציעאיMETZIA'EI- "in-between" dates, which are neither sweet nor bitter
50)[line 48]שתיתאהSHESISA'AH- a dish made from the flour of kernels that were parched in an oven. If an idolater's vinegar is added, it would be prohibited because the vinegar is a derivative of the idolater's wine.
51)[line 49]בטלפחיB'TELAFCHEI- [if it is made] with lentils
52)[line 53]"משכב וספות וכלי יוצר וחטים ושעורים וקמח וקלי ופול ועדשים וקלי""MISHKAV V'SAPOS U'CHELI YOTZER V'CHITIM U'SE'ORIM V'KEMACH V'KALI U'FUL VA'ADASHIM V'KALI" - "Bedding, bowls, pottery, wheat, barley and flour, toasted grain, beans, lentils and toasted legumes." (Shmuel II 17:28) (BARZILAI HA'GIL'ADI'S GIFT TO DAVID HA'MELECH)
(a)Following the rebellion of his son, Avshalom, David and his army fled Yerushalayim. They were encamped in Machanayim, when a number of followers came to visit him. Among them as Barzilai ha'Gil'adi, who brought David the much-needed provisions, some of which are listed in this verse. In addition, he brought him honey, butter, sheep, and cheeses made from cow's milk, because they assumed that David and his men, who had needed to make a hasty escape, must be hungry, tired, and thirsty.
53)[line 54]צני צניTZANEI TZANEI- baskets
54)[line 56]לעבורי זוהמאLA'AVUREI ZUHAMA- to take away a bad smell